A Brilliance Hidden in the Mind
by Neila Nuruodo
Summary: Major Grodin Tierce thought himself the start of a new breed. Admiral Pellaeon thought him a failed experiment. What if Tierce was closer to the truth than Pellaeon? This will be a series of vignettes from various points of view, beginning with the logical and credible and shifting over time to the absurd and ridiculous. Ch. 2: Chaf'orm'bintrano is up!
1. Major Grodin Tierce

A Brilliance Hidden in the Mind

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, my idea to auction off pieces of the now-Legends EU to various fans has not managed to take off, so everything still belongs to Lucasfilm. I make nothing from this but the pleasure of words and ideas shared with like minds.

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Major Grodin Tierce let a tight smile cross his lips as he strode purposefully through the halls of Bastion. It was easy to walk with a bit of a spring in his step; his plans were finally coming to fruition. Soon the so-called New Republic would begin its final fragmentation, driving sector after sector back into the Empire's arms. And though most would never know it, he was the midwife that was even now bringing about the change that would renew the galaxy and bring it back to how it should be. He was the first of a new breed.

The first, he mused with pleasure, but not the last, not if he knew his progenitor. Which, considering his spiritual father, the great Grand Admiral Thrawn, had passed on to him his knowledge and tactical brilliance, he felt it safe to say he did know the man. Even now, in unknown corners of the galaxy, other agents were no doubt moving toward the same great goal, that of the galaxy's unification under the only power that had a chance of standing against the coming storm.

His only regret was that his efforts would in the end go largely unsung, that others would bask in the light he would bring about. But that was the way it had to be, he reminded himself. If Thrawn had wanted to be the one in the limelight, he would have cloned his own DNA instead of just his mind. Someone was needed to work from behind the scenes, to pull the strings while enjoying the protection of anonymity. Not to mention, he thought, his smile slipping, that if Thrawn had cloned himself, it would be pretty obvious that he was a clone, especially after all this time. At least Tierce didn't have to deal with that stigma, not unless someone discovered his secret. Fortunately, all records of that project should have been destroyed automatically a month after Thrawn failed to enter the code that protected his most secret information.

Really, he couldn't understand why people were so frightened and repulsed by clones. Thrawn had had the right attitude toward them; they were people, the same as anyone else. In fact, they were better. Instead of being born of the chance mashing of two DNA strands together, each clone was created because he was above average, superior to most naturally born beings in any number of ways. As Tierce saw it, he had a mother and a father the same as anyone else; the original Grodin Tierce had given him flesh, and both Tierce and Thrawn had raised him and taught him. Taking into consideration the quick maturation of clones, especially with Thrawn's ingenious method, the only downside to cloning was the cost.

Of course, that couldn't really be universalized, since large amounts of cloning would result in a decrease of genetic diversity, something that could have potentially disastrous consequences. But then, Thrawn had found a way around that issue as well. By taking his mental template and combining it with someone else's DNA, he had eliminated the possibility of all his clones being wiped out by any one disease to which he might happen to be genetically susceptible. Survival favors the fittest, and technology was a means of improving people's ability to survive. As such, anyone with Thrawn's mental template, despite being a clone, had a significant survival advantage in any situation due to the wealth of knowledge and flexibility of thought they had received from Thrawn.

And really, he thought with a flash of annoyance, if identical twins, which occur naturally in all mammalian species and many avian and reptilian ones as well, are technically nothing more than natural clones, he could see no logical reason why artificially created clones should be seen any differently. Clearly it was a combination of illogical thought and the feelings of inadequacy caused by the fear that a created person would be better than them which kept the common rabble in their fear and ignorance. Perhaps someday that would change, maybe even as a direct result of Thrawn's clone agents bringing about a better galaxy. But for now, he thought, coming to a stop outside Moff Disra's door, he would do well to turn his mind to personal manipulation and tactics and leave the social improvements to whomever Thrawn had entrusted them.

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	2. Chaf'orm'bintrano

A Brilliance Hidden in the Mind, Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews, DarkMando and meline387. It helps to know people like this stuff!

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Chaf'orm'bintrano lay on his back inside the pathetic fort of chairs and tables in the meeting room inside Outbound Flight. He tried not to focus on the warmth slowly leaking down his arm through the makeshift bandage, keeping the arm elevated as much as he could in the cramped space. He could not bring himself to regret maneuvering the Vagaari into position for the Chiss to destroy them permanently, but he truly hoped his machinations would not end up costing him his life. Feesa patted his hand, her face anxious, and he gave her his best reassuring smile. And there was the other thing, he thought sadly; even more than himself, he hoped Feesa would survive this trap.

He thought back to his first unique memories after his creation. It had taken him a relatively long time to come to terms with his identity, trapped between the memories of a Chaf politician and an exile who had, at least to half his mind, sunk very low in serving the human Empire. Of course, with Thrawn's own memories and comprehension occupying the other half of his mind, he had an intimate understanding of the reasons why Thrawn would make the choices he did, including his devious plan to capture and clone Formbi, combining his own genius with the politician's knowledge and experience. And even though he wanted to resent Thrawn's presumption in replacing Formbi with a clone, he had to admit that Formbi's family-centric views and selfishness were detrimental to the Chiss as a whole. The discovery of a vast, organized coalition of species in the center of the galaxy should have been an occasion to focus on uniting the Chiss, but Formbi had, characteristically, focused only on the potential benefits to his house and his own political career.

In the end, he too had seen the necessity of replacing the aristocra with someone more focused on the big picture. And since he already existed, was physically identical to Formbi, and had all the memories he'd need to take his place (and some extra besides), he had acquiesced to his father's plan. He had returned in the other's place, finding that he didn't really want to know what Thrawn would do with his "mother" (although he knew what he would do, using Thrawn's memories and genius), and had carried on as though nothing were different. He had had to make an effort not to show a dramatic change in behavior on his return, since he had disappeared under somewhat mysterious circumstances and could not afford to have any doubts cast upon his person. At times he found it incredibly frustrating being forced to play the role of a self-centered politician, but even that served to reinforce in his mind the necessity of replacing Formbi.

He remembered when he first met Feesa after returning in Formbi's place. He had Formbi's memories of her birth, but his genetic donor had largely disregarded her after that. He, however, had been impressed with her quiet intelligence, determination, and loyalty. He had deemed it worth the risk of coming under suspicion to begin grooming her for the political arena, even though it was a bit on the selfless side for Formbi. In the end it paid off, not only in the long term, as she became a capable helper and a force for good in the complex political arena of the Ruling Houses, but in a more immediate way as it seemed his family head was pleased to see him taking a more long-term view. In hindsight, and with Thrawn's perspective, it was obvious that Chaf'len'chaf had intended to wait for Formbi to figure out on his own that his scope was too narrow before giving him any more authority or power than he already had. This revelation, along with the approval that accompanied it, had given him just the excuse he craved to begin, slowly but surely, to alter Formbi's policies to match the ideologies and goals imparted to him by Thrawn.

And now one of the most ambitious of those goals teetered on the edge of success. Hopefully the Jedi would be able to get word out to the Chiss about the Vagaari who would soon be heading back to attack the base at Crustai. Perhaps they would even find the time to come back and rescue their small group from the prowling wolvkils as well; while they didn't dare hold an extended comm conversation since the creatures tried to attack every time they touched a commlink, the brief words they'd exchanged before dropping the offending devices on the ground gave him hope that help might be inbound, either from the Jedi or the Empire of the Hand's troops. And of course, there was that tiny, still hope in his breast that he might learn what had happened to Thrass. While he was not technically any relation or concern of Formbi's, he had Thrawn's memories of their closeness, and even if he could never have such a bond with Thrass, he hoped he had managed to survive the ship's crash landing and was still, somehow, alive. And even if not, the part of him born of Thrawn would be soothed to know his brother's fate, to learn what had happened to him and why.

He forced himself to remain still and calm, keeping his pulse as slow as possible since every beat of his heart sent a bit more blood out through his wound. Feesa had ignored her own wound, and it appeared minor enough that he didn't expend the energy to coax her to take care of it. He keenly regretted the necessity of putting her in danger, but he had needed her loyalty and assistance for his own sake and in case something had happened to him. The only thing that could be worse than their dying to spring this trap would be if he had been killed or neutralized before he could make sure it was properly set, with no one else aware of the danger and able to continue the plan. He felt his eyes sliding closed and forced them back open, looking around to keep himself alert. He could hold out a little longer, either until rescue came or the Vagaari returned to mock them and collect their creatures before leaving them to die. He would make it through somehow; his determination would keep him going, along with the knowledge of what danger he would be leaving Feesa in if he lost consciousness. He blinked and tried to sit up as he thought he heard stealthy footfalls down the hallway, and even as Feesa exhorted him not to move, the wolvkils turned toward the door and began to charge.

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